If Eric Stoltz Had Played Marty McFly in Back to the Future [Video]

Before Michael J. Fox leapt from TV to film stardom by playing Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy, there was another Marty: Eric Stoltz, who you may know, depending on your vintage, as Rocky Dennis in the 1985 film Mask or as Daniel Graystone on Caprica.

Back to the Future was five weeks into shooting with Stoltz as the lead when director Robert Zemeckis decided things weren’t quite right: Comparing notes with executive producer Stephen Spielberg, Zemeckis said “I just don’t think we’re getting the laughs I was hoping we would get.” They ultimately made the “horrific,” “heartbreaking” decision to replace Stoltz with Fox, reshot five weeks of work, and thus the Back to the Future we know today was born. This never-before-seen footage from the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy DVD and Blu-Ray box set, which comes out on October 26th, gives us a glimpse at an alternate BttF where Stoltz plays McFly.